The meat industry is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, resource depletion, and ethical concerns, which highlights the need for sustainable and innovative alternatives to ensure food security. Cultured meat, produced by in vitro cultivation of animal cells, presents a promising alternative to conventional meat production. Cultivated meat could offer potential reductions in land use, water consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions. However, its development and market acceptance face numerous challenges, including microbial contamination, allergenicity, scalability issues, and the strict European Union (EU) regulatory framework for novel foods.
This research addresses the critical risks associated with the lab-grown meat production process and explores how Safe-by-Design principles can mitigate these risks to meet EU safety, ethical, and regulatory standards. SbD focuses on integrating safety measures within the whole production process, including cell sourcing, culture development, proliferation, differentiation, and bioreactor design. This study identifies key risks, such as contamination, genetic instability, and ethical concerns, and proposes solutions like serum-free media, optimised bioreactor systems, and improved cell differentiation techniques. Furthermore, it discusses the bottlenecks of the EU’s regulatory approval process and evaluates how SbD can help streamline compliance.
By applying SbD principles, this research offers practical recommendations for improving the safety, efficiency, and public acceptance (by addressing ethical concerns) of cultivated meat. These insights aim to support researchers, policymakers, and industry leaders in fostering a sustainable and ethical transition within the EU to cultivated meat.